First I've got to say those are some nice looking images! Your body styling does a great job showing the evolution of the design and your renderings just keep looking better.
Second please note that what follows is merely an opinion coming from some schmuck who has what I would consider only a fairly basic understanding of aerodynamic principles from a variety of second hand sources, but minimal first hand experience in putting them to the test...So please take the following thoughts and opinions with a grain or two of salt:
Now that being said, you seem to be pretty open to constructive criticism, so please don't take any of this negatively or personally. I really do think you've got a great start here, but wonder if it might be in need of some directional guidance. I also know that the body is certainly a work in progress, but I think that's the best place to start with what you've shown us, especially now while it's still in a continued state of flux. Unfortunately I see it moving more towards "function follows form" than the much preferable "form follows function". As you've already noted the complex body shape becomes more difficult to produce. Additionally while the aggressive curves give it an ultra-modern shape that appears to combine Formula1 funkyness in an LMP style package, by moving away from basic well known and relatively easy to follow aerodynamic principles you're more than likely hurting the aerodynamic performance of the car. Without the use of CFD, a wind tunnel, and extensive testing on countless body shape variations to finely tune the aerodynamics, such swoopy designs will more than likely only
look fast compared to the competition.
Honestly, if I had to guess, I'd say that your "original" body would be the most aerodynamic. The nose appears to actually end higher than the rear bulkhead that spans the drivers and passengers shoulders and the angles on the bodywork don't promote flow separation.
The current design appears to be using the cockpit as a small parachute. I would either try to get the driver lower in the car, or at least raise the rearward section of the nose as it approaches the cockpit opening. Also if the cockpit is triangularly widening as it appears to be from the angles shown, then that is also likely promoting airflow into the cockpit...Think about an NACA duct shape designed to draw air
into the opening. Basically only make the cockpit opening as big as it needs to be within the rules, or at worst within the confines of being snug without requiring the driver to be a contortionist. Since the open cockpit is one of the main drag inducing required parts of the bodywork, it should be minimized as much as possible.
I know you mention the lower area of the nose being problematic for airflow, but remember that probably the most important area for airflow to reduce drag is the
trailing side of everything, not the leading side. Which brings me to the other glaring issue. Almost all of the trailing surfaces on your most recent design appear to be very aggressively sloped.
Click here to see the latest Audi R15 LMP. Take particular note of the upper surfaces after both the front and rear tires. If Audi can't get the air to stick to a steeper angle than this, I would be skeptical that you can. The duck tail on the rear can be more aggressively done than the Audi has it, as seen on the Peugeot 908, however it also requires the trailing edge to have adequate kick up...and again to pull off the more challenging flow characteristics like the Peugeot 908 tail, will generally either take a lot of development ($$) or an even greater amount of luck.
Don't get me wrong either. I think the general shape continues to become more visually appealing with every iteration, and I do believe that with some modifications to the way it is implemented you could combine the general stylistic philosophy with more simple and and easily understood aerodynamic principles to create a car that hasn't lost what you've already put into it, but would also be more likely to be aerodynamically competitive.
I look forward to watching your design ideas continue to evolve and improve.
I would strongly recommend going to
Mulsanne's Corner and essentially clicking on every set of pictures, for every car, to read up on every technical note, so that you can learn as much as possible from those that do/did spend millions of dollars a year developing cars for this sport...and who still must continually make improvements to the aerodynamics and designs every year.
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He has since sold off the business and makes a similar product for clients in Asia.